25.10.13
Monitor places QEHKL FT into special measures
Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (QEHKL) NHS Foundation Trust has been placed into special measures to tackle poor care and weak leadership, Monitor has announced.
The trust was found to have serious problems, following warnings from the CQC about inadequate patient care and from NHS England about inadequate nurse staffing levels. It has been in breach of its licence for financial issues since April this year, and Monitor said that special measures must now be taken.
Kate Gordon, chair of the trust, has stepped down and is replaced by David Dean, the current vice-chair of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS FT.
A new chief executive, Manjit Obhrai, has been appointed to oversee a shake-up of the management team. He was a key member of the turnaround team at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust as Medical Director.
Monitor has also appointed an Improvement Director, David Hill. He was chief executive at James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth.
Other measures include a partnership arrangement with Guy’s and St. Thomas’ and an action plan, which will be published on the NHS Choices website from early November.
Stephen Hay, managing director of provider regulation at Monitor said: “We have been monitoring the performance of this trust for some time, and it is clear that the current leadership of the trust is not the right one to bring about the changes needed.
“That’s why we’ve taken this action, appointing new leadership and bringing in a team that has a wealth of experience. Special measures will give the trust the opportunity to start delivering the standard of care patients expect.”
Acting chief executive Sharon Beamish at the trust said: “The reviews are critical in a number of key areas and we apologise to our patients for falling short of what should be expected and to our staff for allowing the Trust to get into this position. We accept the reports’ findings and as a Board we will work with Monitor to do everything we can to put things right as quickly as possible.
“The RRR report does make it clear that our staff are friendly, open and engaging and the majority of patients spoke highly of their care. Our task now is to make sure that at every level; from the Board to the wards, we all share in the responsibility to deliver good patient care consistently.”
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Image c. Chris Radburn/PA Wire